A Caged Bird

Sometime after Raymond left the forest…

A shadowy figure appeared at the creek where the remains of destruction still lingered around. Thick swirls of dark miasma rolled off of its body. A thin line of blood dripped from its mouth probably due to some injuries to inner organs.

The figure mutely walked inside the barren wasteland that was previously the inner forest region. Even its footsteps were eerily quiet as it trudged around the land until it finally reached the source of destruction.

There was nothing except for the little fragments of bones littered here and there. The figure knelt on the ground and picked up one of the bone fragments. It lovingly caressed that shard of bone.

"Rest in peace, my friend. I will avenge your death."

Its deep masculine voice echoed out in the forest as it stood up with a newfound determination. The figure looked around for a few minutes in search of something that gave a clue about what happened here.

When it didn't find anything after searching for a while it gave a long sigh of resignation and flew towards the direction of the capital city.

*******

A blonde haired man was engaged in an intense battle with two women on a king sized bed in a luxurious looking bedroom.

He had royal blue eyes and high cheekbones. His sharp chin coupled with his symmetrical facial structure made him especially handsome. He looked like the younger version of his father— Commander Cyril Denver.

The croaking of the Shadow Raven was drowned out by the loud moaning sound of a red haired woman pinned under him.

But a purple haired woman who was sharing the bed with them seemed to have noticed the raven's glimmering crimson eyes through tinted window glass.

"My lord, there seems to be a messenger raven waiting for you."

She informed the man. The man tsked as he was interrupted during his playtime and glared at the purple haired woman who shrunk her neck in fear.

He got off the bed and opened the window to let the raven in. These Shadow Ravens were a type of magical beasts that were known for their speed during the night time. They could fly ten times faster than a normal crow under the influence of darkness as such they made excellent carriers of messages.

As a family that had an affinity with the darkness, the Denvers were especially known for breeding and training these Shadow Ravens.

Felix Denver took the letter tied to the raven's feet and shooed it off. The raven croaked at him angrily for not feeding it anything and flew off through the window.

Seeing the Denver family seal on the letter he knew it was from his father stationed at the border as the commander of the army. So he abstained from going back to bed and told the two women to get out of his room.

After making sure that no one was around his room he opened the letter to read its contents.

A malicious grin formed on his face as he read his father's letter. His father had ordered him to get rid of Raymond Clover.

"Haha, finally! Father has finally come to his senses, I have been groaning about killing that trash for a long time now but father always stopped me from doing it."

He cackled sinisterly thinking about finally killing Raymond. Ever since he heard about the betrothal between Raymond and the princess he has been simmering in rage at the thought of a good for nothing like Raymond marrying his dream girl.

"Hihi, if I have Raymond killed then I will have a chance to get the princess."

Just thinking about marrying his crimson haired goddess made his breath quicken. He would no longer have to make do with the fake one from the brothel if he could get his hands on the real one.

Felix chuckled to himself as he exited his room and went to the basement of his manor. This manor was situated in a fairly remote place in the capital city and was owned by his father.

Felix really liked this manor as it was isolated from the public. He could do whatever he wanted here without the fear of getting caught.

He had the basement of this manor modified into a dungeon so that he could keep his lord's captives there. His lord was very impressed with these arrangements and appointed him to torture and interrogate the captives.

But today he wasn't going to torture his lord's captives instead he was going to meet one of his family's captives— his half-sister Lyla.

She was born to one of his father's concubines. Usually, his mother would get rid of any offspring of his father, be it a girl or a boy. And his father never stopped her from doing so until Lyla was born.

She was born as a host to one of the 72 Innate Spirits— 'Heartsbane'. If its host made proper use of the spirit then they could kill someone far stronger than them.

So his father had decided to groom her into an assassin who would carry out the family's dirty work. She had proven herself a great asset to the family by cultivating diligently and reaching the realm of Martial King by the age of 25.

She was by no means inferior to the seventh princess who was hailed as the most talented youngster of the empire. But his family kept her existence a secret as she was just a tool for them to do their dirty work.

She had no value as a bride since she couldn't be involved with someone from the opposite gender without killing them. 'Heartsbane' was an apt name for her Innate Spirit because she would never be able to embrace any man without killing him.

Felix entered the dark and cold dungeon built into the basement. He walked past the rows of dingy captive cells until he came to the last one which was the darkest cell in that dungeon.

He took an oil lamp that was hung on the side wall and lit it up. As the faint light from the lamp illuminated the dark cell, a face covered in dirt appeared in his view.

Even though her face was smeared with dirt and sweat one could still see her otherworldly beauty. She had an angular face and a small nose, and lush red lips adorned her face. She had vibrant violet coloured eyes that matched her hip length black hair which had a stripe of violet mixed in between.

She was 1.6 metres tall with full breasts that defied gravity. She had the ever present cold expression on her face which made her look aloof and icy.

Felix, who was born as an heir to a noble family and a future duke, could have any woman he wanted but just like others he too desired someone out of his reach.

Scarlett Phoenix was one of them for what she represented and another was his half sister Lyla Violet.

With Raymond gone he had the chance to be with Scarlett but his half sister was a different matter. He knew he would never be able to touch her which only fueled his desire for her.

"Brother," came a cold and powerful voice from the other side of the cell that brought him back to reality.

"It's Young Lord Denver for you!"

Felix banged his hand on the iron bars that made up the cell door.

"Lord Denver has a task for you," he said with gritted teeth. "Don't screw it up like the last time."

She was ordered to assassinate the emperor by his father when he was denied the position of army commander in favour of Thomas Clover. His father, in his rage, had ordered her to get rid of them both. She was almost caught by the Imperial Guardians that always lurked around the emperor. That was why she was locked up in this cell as a punishment by his father.

"What task?"

Felix had a shit eating grin on his face as he said:

"You have to assassinate Raymond Clover."